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U.S. Senate unanimously approves update to Toxic Substances Control Act

From the National Association of Manufacturers’ Manufacturing Economy Daily blog.

NOTE: Associated Industries of Missouri is the sole official designated partner of the National Association of Manufacturers in Missouri.

The Washington Post (6/7, Eilperin) reports the Senate on Tuesday evening, through a voice vote, “unanimously” passed legislation updating the 40-year-old Toxic Substances Control Act, or TSCA, clearing the way for President Obama’s signature.

The bipartisan bill to “overhaul the way the federal government regulates every chemical sold on the market” in the US will provide chemical producers “greater certainty” while giving the Environmental Protection Agency “the ability to obtain more information about a chemical before approving its use,” the Post says. Manufacturers have pushed Congress to update the 1976 statute “because several states have begun to impose their own curbs on toxic chemicals out of concern that the federal government was not doing enough,” the article explains.

NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons is quoted as saying, “The regulations on these chemicals will be clearer and more straightforward, meaning time and resources that would have been spent trying to navigate outdated, confusing rules can now be spent on driving innovation and creating jobs.”

Bloomberg Government (6/8; Dabbs, Rizzuto, Scott, Gibb; Subscription Publication) quotes Timmons as saying, “By delivering clear, modernized rules, this reform will make it easier for manufacturers to ensure the safety of our products and deliver quality goods to our customers.”

A NAM news release contains the entirety of Timmons’ comments on the Senate vote.

The AP (6/7, Daly), in a story noting the NAM’s support for the bill, calls the Senate’s reauthorization of the TSCA “a rare display of bipartisanship in an election year.” Once signed by the president, the sweeping law will “for the first time regulate tens of thousands of toxic chemicals in everyday products,” the AP says.

The New York Times (6/7, Davenport, Subscription Publication) reports the revised TSCA has been sent to Obama “for his expected signature.” The House approved the legislation, 403-12, on May 24.